Clark Gable and his great love, Carole Lombard, only made one film together - this one, "No Man of Her Own" - and they weren't even a couple. At the time of "No Man of Her Own," Lombard was married to William Powell, and Gable to a socialite named Maria Franklin. When he fell for Lombard a few years after this movie was made, it was some time before Franklin would give him a divorce.

A mustacheless Gable plays a cheating card shark who, while on the lam, meets a librarian (Lombard) and marries her. He's not planning that it be permanent; along the way, they fall in love.

Both stars are very good and have great chemistry. She's beautiful, and he's just one sexy devil with that smile and the way he looked at a woman. Pretty devastating, with or without the mustache. A great screen presence.

Someone commented that had Lombard not died, she would have signed with MGM and been paired with Gable in more films. It would be wonderful to have them together more than once. In 1937, in fact, when Jean Harlow died during the making of "Saratoga," Gable recommended that she be replaced with Lombard. Lest anyone think that was insensitive - the situation of a star dying in the middle of a film was new to everyone, no one knew how it would be handled, and poor Gable thought he was helping. People back then didn't think in terms of leaving a legacy and last films.

So we're stuck with the pre-code "No Man of Her Own." Not bad, not great, of interest because of its two stars.

Both Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were such charismatic and likeable presences. Lombard was a joy in so much of her work and her tragic early death was a huge loss, and Gable was suave and versatile as well as difficult to look away from. 'No Man of Her Own' had an attention grabbing title and the premise while unoriginal sounded entertaining. It was also interesting to see Gable and Lombard so early in their careers together before they became a married couple.

'No Man of Her Own' is definitely worth watching, but there are major drawbacks that stop it from being an essential as an overall film. It is though a must if one wants to see Gable and Lombard together pre-marriage and back when they were still in a way finding their styles, or see everything both have done. A curio if you will, though faring better than quite a lot of other curiosities that vary wildly in quality, with 'No Man of Her Own' is somewhere around high-middle of the pack. Has Gable done better? Oh yes, most definitely. Has Lombard? Yes, though her role here suits her perfectly.

Gable and Lombard are the main reasons to see 'No Man of Her Own' too. Gable is attractive, never less than very confident and very charming. It is also difficult to resist Lombard, whose presence is just riveting and so endearing, she has bubbly comic timing and she handles the more serious parts without being too sentimental. They are very at ease together too and gel so well, they could easily pass for a real-life married couple here.

The production values are not lavish but they have class. The offbeat parts of the script sparkle in wit and the dialogue doesn't feel too corny or awkward generally with some genuine fuel. Grant Withers and Elizabeth Patterson are every bit as engaging as Gable and Lombard and enough of the film goes at a swift rate.

Wesley Ruggles' direction though doesn't rise enough above "getting the job done but routine" level, and although the supporting cast are capable only Withers and Patterson stand out as the only memorable supporting characters.

Did find too much of the story stretched too thin, with a few too many all too easy contrivances and some parts are more complicated than needed. The ending also struck a false note, too saccharine and far too pat.

Summing up, above average if not much more than that. See it for Gable and Lombard, who really do rise above their material. 6/10

No Man of Her Own is a pleasant film, nothing terribly bad or terribly good about it. It is remembered today as the only pairing of that star-crossed couple Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. At the time this was made Gable and Lombard were not an item. They became one about four or five years after No Man of Her Own was filmed. It's not on the top 10 list of either star.

Gable is a gambler/con artist who's forced by circumstance to beat it out of New York and he flees for a small suburb where he meets librarian Carole Lombard and marries her. That's as far as I'm going with the telling of the plot.

Lombard was with Paramount at the time this was made and Gable was on loan out from MGM. There's none of the Lombard we knew and loved in such classics as Twentieth Century or My Man Godfrey here. She's a pleasant enough screen heroine though. Gable does well in his part, but doesn't set the world on fire.

If someone had only predicted that Gable and Lombard and their marriage would be come legendary. I'm sure they would have been given a much better film property. I always felt that if Lombard had not been killed in that plane crash in 1942 she would have eventually signed with MGM and L.B. Mayer would have paired her with Gable in the way Katharine Hepburn signed with MGM after the success of Woman of the Year with Spencer Tracy. You might have had a few films to remember Gable and Lombard by.